[54], Hood was due to be modernised in 1941 to bring her up to a standard similar to that of other modernised First World War-era capital ships. The search team also planned to stream video from the remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) directly to Channel 4's website. The names can be accessed by clicking on the links at right (alphabetical by surname or a listing of all names). John Woodcock. During the 1932 West Indies cruise, the catapult proved to be difficult to operate in anything but a calm sea, as it was frequently awash in bad weather. H.M.S. Hood Association. HMS Hood vs Bismarck : 860ft long and weighing over 43,000 tons, HMS Hood was a global star. A look at the animal sailors who made up a special part of Hood's crew, Sport & Athletics The Special Service Squadron are on a tour around the world. When the threat of an invasion diminished, the ship resumed her previous roles in convoy escort and patrolling against German commerce raiders. Hood Crew Information- H.M.S. Additional information on the service of individual officers is contained in the ADM196 series of records which are available on Ancestry (subscription required) or The National Archives (free if registered). After conservation work, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, unveiled the bell at the museum on 24 May 2016 the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Denmark Strait. The Admiral-class battlecruisers were designed in response to the German Mackensen-class battlecruisers, which were reported to be more heavily armed and armoured than the latest British battlecruisers of the Renown and the Courageous classes. THE only three British sailors to have survived the sinking of HMS Hood after an attack by the Nazis have spoken about their terrifying ordeal the day after the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The database remains a "work in progress" and records are added to it at regular intervals. Due to her publicly perceived invincibility, the loss affected British morale. The loss of HMS Hood, with 1,400 crew was the Royal Navy's darkest hour. She sported two funnels amidships about her superstructure with the bridge stationed ahead. At full speed, or in heavy seas, water would flow over the ship's quarterdeck and often entered the messdecks and living quarters through ventilation shafts. After a brief overhaul of her propulsion system, she sailed as the flagship of Force H, and participated in the destruction of the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. HMS Hood (pennant number 51) was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy (RN). As a result, the greater part of the infomation that we have brought together in this database has come from the service records of individual men. When Briggs fought his way to the surface, he could see only two other . [90] The eastern field includes the small piece of the stern that survived the magazine explosion, as well as the surviving section of the bow and some smaller remains such as the propellers. Moreover, Sir Stanley V. Goodall, Director of Naval Construction came forward with an alternative theory, that the Hood had been destroyed by the explosion of her own torpedoes. King George V and Smaller Vessels of RDF279", "Memorials in Southsea Portsmouth Naval Memorial", "The July 2001 Channel 4 Expedition to Locate and Film the Wrecks of, "Statutory Instrument 2006 No. The Battle of the Denmark Strait was effectively part of the larger Battle of the Atlantic, the conflict fought as Germany tried to isolate Britain from its colonies and allies in hopes of forcing a negotiated peace. She had cost 6,025,000 to build. The crew in each gunhouse had access to a variety of projectile types. She was above all the proud steel ambassador of the whole Royal Navy and of the country. The discovery of the ship's wreck in 2001 confirmed the conclusion of both boards, although the exact reason the magazines detonated is likely to remain unknown since that portion of the ship was obliterated in the explosion. Hood Crew List Updated 06-Jun-2022 It is estimated that as many as 18,000 men, perhaps more, served aboard the "Mighty Hood" during the operational portion of her 21 year career. These memorials are dedicated to those who died whilst building and serving aboard Hood. [53] Captain Pridham was relieved by Captain Harold Walker on 20 May 1938 and he, in turn, was relieved when the ship returned to Portsmouth in January 1939 for an overhaul that lasted until 12 August. [49], While en route to Gibraltar for a Mediterranean cruise, Hood was rammed in the port side quarterdeck by the battlecruiser Renown on 23 January 1935. [91] Other researchers have claimed that the final salvo fired by Hood was not a salvo at all, but flame from the forward magazine explosion, which gave the illusion of Hood firing for the last time. The Bismarck took some beatings from the best battleships in the British navy. . As completed, Hood had an overall length of 860feet 7inches (262.3m), a maximum beam of 104feet 2inches (31.8m), and a draught of 32 feet (9.8m) at deep load. Transferred to the Home Fleet shortly afterwards, Hood was dispatched to Scapa Flow, and operated in the area as a convoy escort and later as a defence against a potential German invasion fleet. We are particularly grateful to Barry Roberts who has dedicated many hours undertaking this task and has identified several thousand "Hood men" thereby. [21] An Admiralty document indicates however that, following the 1941 refit at Rosyth, Hood's Type 279 radar was indeed functional. Despite the official explanation, some historians continued to believe that the torpedoes caused the ship's loss, while others proposed an accidental explosion inside one of the ship's gun turrets that reached down into the magazine. Hood was well known as a top sporting ship. (7) 30 May 1940 The troopships Antonia (British, 13867 GRT, built 1921) and Duchess of Richmond (British, 22022 GRT, built 1928) departed Liverpool for Halifax. [26], The gun turrets and barbettes were protected by 11 to 15 inches (279 to 381mm) of KC armour, except for the turret roofs, which were 5 inches thick. On May 24, 1941, HMS Hood engaged the German Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and the battleship Bismarck. [94], The forward section lies on its port side, with the amidships section keel up. We therefore welcome and encourage anyone with information on the men who served in Hood to contact us to submit new or supplementary information or photos. Its main conclusion is that the loss was almost certainly precipitated by the explosion of a 4-inch magazine, but that there are several ways this could have been initiated, although he rules out the boat deck fire or the detonation of her torpedoes as probable causes. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. After a cruise to Scandinavian waters that year, Captain Geoffrey Mackworth assumed command. [2] Whatever caused the explosion, it proved fatal for the ship and most of her crew. *** Please note that joining this FB page group does not make you a member . Basil O'Neill. [67] The three were rescued about two hours after the sinking by the destroyer Electra, which spotted substantial debris but no bodies. William Ramshaw HMS Janus (d.23rd Jan 1944) William Ramshaw served on board HMS Janus and died, age 19, on the 23rd January 1944 when his ship was bombed and sunk at Anzio. Late in her career, Hood was outclassed by the armour and protective arrangement of Second World War-era fast battleships, but few of the RN's available "big gun" vessels could match Bismarck's speed. All crew were off the ship at 0430 on 14 Nov as the list increased to 35 degrees. For almost 2 decades, she was the largest and most powerful warship afloat. It has been suggested that the fatal fire spread from the aft end of the ship through the starboard fuel tanks, since the starboard side of Hood "appears to be missing most, if not all of its torpedo bulge plating". That said, it is the work of more than 20 years, and is unlikely to be surpassed elsewhere else. Hood was the first of four Admiral-class ships planned to be built during World War I. [5] This characteristic earned her the nickname of "the largest submarine in the Navy". HMS Hood was a battlecruiser not a battleship, a flawed concept from the Edwardian age that sacrificed armour for speed in the mistaken belief the latter would protect her when under fire from 'heavy' opponents. The relevant series of documents are ADM188 (men joined before 1926), ADM362 (men joining 1926-1928) and ADM363 (service after 1929 for men joining before before that date). [102], Some relics from the time of Hood's sinking still exist. Hood Association Facebook Page It remains possible that a door or trunk could have been opened up by an enemy shell, admitting flames to the magazine. Hood reported an accuracy of 3 degrees with her 279M set. [4], The main battery of the Admiral-class ships consisted of eight BL 15-inch (381mm) Mk I guns in hydraulically powered twin gun turrets. [55] The ship's near-constant active service, resulting from her status as the Royal Navy's most battle-worthy fast capital ship, meant that her material condition gradually deteriorated, and by the mid-1930s, she was in need of a lengthy overhaul. HMS Hood immediately entered a drydock. [41] After her sea trials, she was commissioned on 15 May 1920, under Captain Wilfred Tompkinson. Crew lists from ships hit by U-boats HMS Lapwing (U 62) British Sloop Photo from Imperial War Museum (IWM), FL-9971 This is a listing of people associated with this ship. [24] Hood's protection accounted for 33% of her displacement, a high proportion by British standards, but less than was usual in contemporary German designs (for example, 36% for the battlecruiser SMSHindenburg). Another "pom-pom" director was added on the rear superstructure, abaft the HACS director in 1938. The starboard side of the amidships section is missing down to the inner wall of the fuel tanks and the plates of the hull are curling outward; this has been interpreted as indicating the path of the explosion through the starboard fuel tanks. . Unlike Tiger, the armour was angled outwards 12 from the waterline to increase its relative thickness in relation to flat-trajectory shells. Beam: 104 ft. 2 in. Such a shell could only have come from. Shipwreck On the other hand, the 12-inch belt could have been penetrated if Hood had progressed sufficiently far into her final turn.[84]. All the 5.5-inch guns were removed during another refit in 1940. In the early days of the database, information came to us mainly from relatives of individual men. [15], The Admirals were fitted with six fixed 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes, three on each broadside. [13] In 1931, a pair of octuple mountings for the 40-millimetre (1.6in) QF 2-pounder Mk VIII gun "pom-pom" were added on the shelter deck, abreast of the funnels, and a third mount was added in 1937. Commissioned in 1920, she was named after the 18th-century Admiral Samuel Hood. Admiral Tom Phillips and others criticised the conduct of the inquiry, largely because no verbatim record of witnesses' testimony had been kept. Crew lists from Ships hit by U-boats. [44], Shortly after commissioning on 15 May 1920, Hood became the flagship of the Battlecruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet, under the command of Rear Admiral Sir Roger Keyes. The Admiralty dissented from the verdict, reinstated Sawbridge, and criticised Bailey for ambiguous signals during the manoeuvre. HMS Hood: Crew, History, Status. You can also click below to view a single list of all names He joined HMS Copra on the 7th of November 1943 and was lent three times to HMS Dundonald. HMS Hood was 44,600 tons, had a crew of 1,419 and was faster than the Bismarck with a maximum speed of 32 knots. The probability is that the 4-inch magazines exploded first. 1935 was stamped on one surviving example, and "Hood V Renown off Arosa 23135" on another. 444 Flight of the Royal Air Force (RAF). [11], During the 19291931 refit, a high-angle control system (HACS) Mark I director was added on the rear searchlight platform and two positions for 2-pounder "pom-pom" antiaircraft directors were added at the rear of the spotting top, although only one director was initially fitted. [42], With her conspicuous twin funnels and lean profile, Hood was widely regarded as one of the finest-looking warships ever built. HMS Hood, HMS Repulse, HMS Furious, HMS Somali, HMS Eskimo, HMS Mashona, HMS Punjabi and . [103] A third piece was found in Glasgow, where Hood was built. Two of these were submerged forward of 'A' turret's magazine and the other four were above water, abaft the rear funnel. Albert Edward Pryke "Ted" Briggs was the last survivor of the battle cruiser HMS Hood, sunk by the German warship Bismarck in the North Atlantic during the Second World War. Alternative routes for admission of flame could have been the ventilation or venting arrangements of the magazines or, as Ted Briggs suggested, through the floor of a 15-inch gunhouse. Hood Crew List The stern of the Hood was located, with the rudder still in place, and it was found that this was set to port at the time of the explosion. Hood was the first of the planned four Admiral-class battlecruisers to be built during the First World War. More recently, the records for men who joined the Royal Navy before 1929 have been released into the public domain and are available on Ancestry (subscription required) or The National Archives (free if registered). May 24th marks the loss of the battlecruiser HMS Hood and 1415 of her crew. Prinz Eugen was probably the first ship to score when a shell hit Hood's boat deck, between her funnels, and started a large fire among the ready-use ammunition for the anti-aircraft guns and rockets of the UP mounts. Previously K 64910 (further details absent), Re-entered as Stoker 1st Class (Pensioner) now KX88498, Re-entered for 3 years non continuous service, Transferred to Supply Assistant MX50989 (service record not available), Victory I (Reverts from N.Z.N. As a battlecruiser, Hood was similar in size and had the offensive capability of. The ship had a metacentric height of 4.2 feet (1.3m) at deep load, which minimised her roll and made her a steady gun platform. The pieces of the propeller were kept by dockyard workers: "Hood" v "Renown" Jan. 23rd. Over 40.000 pages on the officers, the boats, technology and the Allied efforts to counter the U-boat threat. Hood Rolls of Honour Updated 01-Jan-2020 These memorials are dedicated to those who died whilst building and serving aboard Hood. It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone" . In addition, the conning tower would have been removed and her bridge rebuilt. One was on each side of the amidships control tower and the third was on the centreline abaft the aft control position. In May 1941, Hood and the battleship Prince of Wales were ordered to intercept the German battleshipBismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which were en route to the Atlantic, where they were to attack convoys.